14.06.2018 Ι The employees of Ledvance (formerly Osram) in Augsburg were unable to prevent the closure of their factory. But they fought high severance pay – much more than Ledvance had last offered to the Labor Court. That was only possible because they were ready to strike for it.
Ledvance’s lamp and glass works – formerly Osram – in Augsburg will be on at the end of the year, and logistics will follow at the end of 2019. Chinese investor MLS turns off the electricity.
In total, 650 employees are affected. However, together with IG Metall, they have won severance pay. For a large part of the workforce, five-figure amounts jump out. For IG Metall members there is something extra on top of that.
“That was only possible because the employees were ready to strike for it”, emphasizes Michael Leppek, first authorized representative of the IG Metall Augsburg. “That puts us well above the employer’s final offer at the labor court’s arbitration center, which means an average of between € 10,000 and € 15,000 for individual employees.”
Strike for social collective agreement was already prepared
IG Metall already had the Ballot of their members at Ledvance initiated over a strike. In the negotiations on a company social plan, Ledvance had not offered enough from the employees’ point of view.
The strike threat meant that the management negotiated again and finally agreed to a social wage agreement with higher severance pay. In addition, some of the employees will continue to work for the employer Ledvance in Augsburg: Mechanical engineering at least until the end of 2020, with at least 50 employees. The approximately 30 apprentices can complete their training in peace at Ledvance in Augsburg. And finally, 120 employees have signed partial retirement contracts. Your partial retirement will continue until you retire, with Ledvance paying monthly.
Employer rejected the future concept of the employees
The Chinese light bulb producer MLS had announced the final shutdown for the former Osram lamp factory in April – not even two years after MLS had bought Ledvance including the traditional brand Osram from Siemens. For months employees and IG Metall fought against the closure and the continuation of the lamp factory. They even put forward a concept for the continuation of operation with modern products – based on a report commissioned by the employees. But the capital side refused.
Employees are satisfied with the social wage agreement that has now been won. This was also reflected in the reactions to the company meeting, at which the results of the negotiations were presented, explains works council member Andreas Jakob. “We exhausted everything that went.”
Berlin plant is preserved
Overall, Ledvance plans to reduce 1,400 out of 2,200 jobs in Germany over the next few years. Also at the other locations there are severance packages.
The plant in Berlin, which was originally also to be closed, remains intact. This has been achieved by IG Metall. However, 80 out of 200 employees lose their jobs there.